Adjustable gastric banding apparatus have provided an effective and substantially less invasive alternative to gastric bypass surgery and other conventional surgical weight loss procedures. Despite the positive outcomes of invasive weight loss procedures, such as gastric bypass surgery, it has been recognized that sustained weight loss can be achieved through a laparoscopically-placed gastric band, for example, the LAP-BAND® (Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif.) gastric band or the LAP-BAND AP® (Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif.) gastric band. Generally, gastric bands are placed about the cardia, or upper portion, of a patient's stomach forming a stoma that restricts the passage of food into a lower portion of the stomach. When the stoma is of an appropriate size that is restricted by a gastric band, food held in the upper portion of the stomach provides a feeling of satiety or fullness that discourages overeating. Unlike gastric bypass procedures, the gastric band apparatus are reversible and require no permanent modification to the gastrointestinal tract.
Over time, a stoma created by a gastric band may need adjustment in order to maintain an appropriate size, which is neither too restrictive nor too passive. Accordingly, prior art gastric band systems provide a subcutaneous fluid access port connected to an expandable or inflatable portion of the gastric band. By adding fluid to or removing fluid from the inflatable portion by means of a hypodermic needle inserted into the access port, the effective size of the gastric band can be adjusted to provide a tighter or looser constriction.
However, adjustment of the gastric band may be dependent on several pieces of data. Such data are conventionally collected as hand written documents, or typed data entry into computer spreadsheets or forms. In general, the methods used to collect gastric band related information have several disadvantages including minimal automation, lack of strong influence for consistency of format and content from one office to the next, and various degrees of difficulty in protecting and retrieving the information.
Some data collection systems have also been disclosed, but these devices have certain disadvantages. For example, Burnes, U.S. Pat. No. 7,584,002, generally discloses aggregation from external data sources within an implantable medical device, but Burnes collects data at an implanted device.
Strother, U.S. Pat. No. 7,283,867, discloses an implantable system and method for acquisition and processing of electrical signals from muscles and/or nerves and/or central nervous system tissue. However, Strother is not directed to adjustment of gastric bands.
Thus, there is a need for a method and system for displaying gastric band information, and more specifically to gastric band information which can support adjustment of a gastric band.